Review | Grease at The Kings Theatre, Southsea: 'Grease is definitely the word at The Kings this spring'

Many, many years ago she recorded the box-office bomb of a sequel off the TV on good old VHS, and as kids with an obsession do, watched it every day. For months. It drove the rest of our household to distraction.

That aside, it’s impossible to not have a passing familiarity with the original Grease – several of its songs have become disco, radio and pop culture staples, the 1978 film’s soundtrack is one of the bestselling albums of all time.

And then of course there’s its leads – John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Loathe as I am to use the word, their portrayals of Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski have indeed become iconic.

For their latest community production, The Kings Theatre has boldly entered the fray with its adaptation. The venue, of course, has its own high standards to meet – last year’s show, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, was an unqualified success.

But from the off here, we’re in safe hands – the opening overture of the title song with the leads and the ensemble sets the bar high. From there it’s swiftly into Summer Nights and Jacob Bailey as Danny and Poppy Bailey as Sandy nail that big final note comfortably.

Tom Wood’s Kenickie and Amy Pickance’s Rizzo get the pick of Act One’s moments – the two spar nicely with each other, giving it plenty of swagger and sass respectively. But they’re ably supported by the other T-Birds and Pink Ladies.

The show moves at a fair clip with the songs – and the dances – coming quickly. The choreography by Bee Anderson, particularly for the Born To Hand Jive number, is sterling throughout. Trying to step into Travolta’s shoes must be a daunting task, but Bailey has a fair crack and shows some nice moves – not just in this scene. And Izzy Isaacs certainly makes the most of her moment as Cha Cha with Bailey in the hand jive competition dance.

Poppy Bailey also shines in her solo moments – with her Hopelessly Devoted to You being a standout.

However, Stuart Warner nearly steals the whole show during Beauty School Dropout with his gyrating, hilarious, self-regarding Teen Angel.

The staging is effective, and it works well to have the band in view at the top of the set, rather than in the pit. It’s also interesting to note that at the start of the show there is an announcement stating that if you want to sing and dance along – don’t, this isn’t a singalong production. This has been a hot topic in the theatre world recently, with some audiences getting a little carried away and disrupting performances – not at The Kings we should add.

If there is a quibble, some of the language might be a bit choice for the youngest audience members – it’s not quite as family-friendly as Chitty.

Aside from that, Grease is definitely the word at The Kings this spring – get yourself down to Rydell High and party like it’s 1959.